Rinalia beat me to it, but here is the note I received from Xavier along with my reply.
This is indeed a landmark decision. My thanks to Olivier who spearheaded this initiative, and to all others who contributed to its success.
Alan
======================
Thanks so much Xavier. I have been at a meeting in Africa and did not see the announcement.
We certainly hoped that our proposal would be accepted, but this is faster and better than we dared hope.
I am the rest of the ALAC and At-Large do appreciate what you, your staff, and the Board Finance Committee have done.
Warm regards, Alan
From: "Xavier J. Calvez" <xavier.calvez@icann.org>
To: Alan Greenberg <alan.greenberg@mcgill.ca>, Cherine Chalaby
<cherine.chalaby@icann.org>, Asha Hemrajani <asha.hemrajani@icann.org>
CC: "Rinalia Abdul Rahim (GMAIL)" <rinalia.abdulrahim@gmail.com>, "Board
Operations" <board-operations@icann.org>
Subject: Re: ALAC proposal on multi-year planning for face-to-face meetings
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2016 22:56:30 +0000
Dear Alan,
I am following up on the email below and attached proposal.
As Cherine and I had indicated, we have addressed this request in the public comment responses, which were published on 6 June (see link below, page 116/119). In case, you would not have had an opportunity to review this document, you will find below the text of the response. Hopefully, this conveys adequately that the ALAC request is welcome and approved.
I want to ensure it is clear that the Goal 1.3 of the 5-year Operating Plan has been adjusted to reflect this proposal, with a mention of the At Large meetings as relevant in each remaining years of the 5-year plan.
If you have any questions, please let Cherine or I know.
Link: https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/report-comments-op-budget-fy17-five-year-06jun16-en.pdf
Response
Value in Face-to-Face Meetings
ICANN recognizes the fundamental importance of the representation of users in ICANN’s multistakeholder model, and of the participation of such representatives in its activities. ICANN also recognizes that the existing structures of the At-Large organization depend for their effectiveness on face-to-face meetings, and that the past experience of the value resulting from such face-to-face meetings has received broad consensus from the community.
ICANN Agrees with the At-Large Request
ICANN welcomes the request from At-Large for a multiyear schedule of General Assemblies and Summits. It is consistent with the organization’s efforts to plan more and better in both short and long terms.
It allows the existing meetings and costs to be put in the longer term perspective of a five-year cycle. This will improve the predictability of activities and costs for the ICANN organization and allow better planning and increased efficiency in the organization of such meetings. It also makes explicit the commitment of the At-Large organization to the suggested structure of meetings included in the proposal.
The Way Forward
ICANN plans to integrate the At-Large multiyear schedule of General Assemblies and Summits, and similar requests from other parts of the community, into ICANN’s Five-Year Operating Plan. This means At-Large will not have to make new requests every year for the inclusion in the Fiscal Year Operating Plan and Budget.
Future Considerations
The Fiscal Year Operating Plan and Budget are subject to community and Board approval each year. Because of the longer term planning arising from this process, both the ICANN and At-Large organizations will need to be flexible and adjust the scheduling of General Assemblies and Summit meetings to take account of circumstances as they arise. “
We also recommended that At-Large provides periodic updates of the five-year cycle of meetings. These should happen at least once a year and at least two months before the scheduled date of publication of the draft annual operating plan and budget for public comment.
Changes to be made in final FY17 planning documents
Integrate the proposed multiyear planning proposal into the FY17 Operating Plan and Budget
Thank you.
Best,
Xavier
Xavier Calvez
ICANN
CFO
12025 Waterfront Drive, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90094
Office : +1 (310) 301 5838
Mobile : +1 (805) 312 0052
Fax : +1 (310) 957-2348
-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Greenberg <alan.greenberg@mcgill.ca>
Date: Sunday, May 1, 2016 at 9:40 AM
To: Cherine Chalaby <cherine.chalaby@icann.org>, Asha Hemrajani <asha.hemrajani@icann.org>, Xavier Calvez <xavier.calvez@icann.org>
Cc: "Rinalia Abdul Rahim (GMAIL)" <rinalia.abdulrahim@gmail.com>
Subject: ALAC proposal on multi-year planning for face-to-face meetings
>Dear Cherine, Asha and Xavier,
>
>As discussed in Marrakech, the ALAC Proposal for Multi-Year Planning
>of At-Large Face-to-Face Meetings has been submitted to the Public
>Comment on the Y17 plan and budget. I am attaching a copy here for
>your convenience. I am of course available to answer any questions
>you may have.
>
>If you have any idea of the time-line for addressing the proposal, I
>would appreciate if you could share it. If it is aspirational and not
>something you would like to see published, I will only share with my
>trusted leadership team. You will note that the proposal implies but
>does not explicitly say that this should be rolled into the FY17 plan
>and budget, so we have tried to give you flexibility as to how things play out.
>
>Warm regards, Alan
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